Help an Afghan Woman Refugee Finish Her Education

My name is Erika Bourne and I live in Waltham, Massachusetts. I am helping Somaya, an impressive and courageous Afghan asylum seeker, raise money to complete her education here in the US. I met her when she stayed with me when she first arrived in the US this past April.

When you read her story below you will see why I find her so inspiring. I hope you will agree that helping her will go beyond helping one woman. She is so dedicated to her mission that I have no doubt that she will help countless women, girls and their families for decades to come.

I am Somaya Ahmady from Herat, Afghanistan. After fleeing to Bangladesh to escape the Taliban's restrictions, I completed my BA in Public Health and am now looking forward to starting a Masters's program at Brandeis University in the United States.

I grew up in a conservative society in relatively free Afghanistan with a strong and supportive mother who entered an arranged marriage at the age of 12 and had her first child at 14. In my community, the social exclusion of women, lack of access to health care and education, and other recurring humanitarian crises have had profound negative effects for decades. The strong support of my mother, who wanted to open a culture of free education to women in my community, encouraged me to pursue my dreams of higher education and to become a leader who could in turn support other women in their education.

Despite threats, protests, and rejection from conservative relatives, I passed high school with excellent grades and in 2015 started two programs (Bachelor of Sociology and Diploma of Midwifery) at two different universities in Herat. Unfortunately, I was not able to continue my studies in Afghanistan due to security reasons. In 2016 it was my good fortune to win a full scholarship from the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, I tried to take every opportunity to improve my knowledge and skills through training, connecting with aspiring girls, and supporting them through various programs, such as educational and health consultations, volunteer coordination for those who were looking for education, and to defend women's rights and peace in different parts of the society. Unfortunately, after the regime change in Afghanistan, like other Afghan women and girls, I was deprived of all the goals that I tried to achieve for years. When I was in the worst situation from all sides and I felt a deep responsibility towards the fight for women's rights, I decided to pursue my goals from a different path with greater strength. So in January 2022, I moved back to Bangladesh to complete my bachelor's degree in public health and graduate in April 2023. 

After the new regime in Afghanistan decided to restrict education for women and girls, I led an association with a group of educated women to advocate for women's rights and education in Afghanistan. With this aim, I started a virtual educational school for girls and women from different regions of Afghanistan. Since I found good results from the virtual program, now we are working on an international school education program not only for Afghan girls, but for all those who are deprived of education around the world.  

My dream is to be a strong woman who can support women's education and healthcare. As a public health leader, perhaps in an international organization such as WHO or UN, I aim to have an impact on education and healthcare policies in underserved communities. 

I was thrilled when Brandeis University in Boston offered me a partial scholarship (60%) for their dual MS in Global Health Policy and Management followed by MA Sustainable International Development. I believe that this program is an excellent match for my background and future goals.

I need to raise the remaining 40% of the tuition. Erika has helped me to set up this crowdfunding action to raise money for the remaining tuition, fees and other basic living expenses. Time is of the essence as I started school this fall semester already (September 2023). I need to raise $39,061 to cover all costs associated with attending Brandeis for this year.

I hope that you will consider helping me complete my education so that I can pursue my purpose to ensure that underserved communities have access to healthcare and to help other young Afghan women like me to obtain an education.

This is a breakdown of anticipated expenses for the first year dual master's program including living expenses. 

 $57,652 -Full Tuition

-$34,591-Scholarship

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 $23,061 -Tuition (after 60% scholarship)

+$4,000 -Books

+$12,000-Housing and Food 

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$39,061 - Total needed for 2023-2024 

UPDATE

I am honored to share that I have started my favorite master's program with the Global Health Policy and Management program at Brandeis University's Heller School. I am thankful and grateful to everyone who supported me to reach this level. I feel strongly responsible for all that I promise to my colleagues and those with whom I am deeply connected. I believe that I have to be strong and help to build a new way that supports future generations.